Page 41 of Merrick

“I like it a lot.” Bryce returned the art to the table and flexed his knuckles, Merrick’s work spread across them.

Stardust.

That was the tattoo Bryce had wanted on his knuckles, and Merrick had been happy to put it there. It was a gift whenever he got to tattoo his brother, but he noticed something fresh and bright that wrapped around his brother’s wrist bone.

“Who did this one?” Merrick asked.

“Holden, obviously.”

It was a good tattoo, small. A dragonfly.

“Any meaning behind it?”

“Yes,” Bryce said.

He wanted to ask for the meaning, but he knew if it was meant for him, his brother would have offered. Old Merrick, high school Merrick, would have pressed the matter. He imagined the dismissal was a test, and he didn’t intend to fail it.

“He does good work,” Merrick said instead.

“Better than you?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

Bryce laughed, rolling his eyes and smiling down at the tattoo his boyfriend had given him.

“Tell me about Wilder,” Bryce said. “If you want.”

“He’s handsome, obviously. He’s curious, like…he wants to hear when I talk about art and stuff.”

“Lock him down.”

They both laughed at that, and Merrick lifted one shoulder toward his ear in a lopsided shrug. “I know, right?”

“How old is he?”

“My age.”

“And he…makes you happy?”

“Yes.”

Bryce nodded.

“I’d like to meet him sometime.”

Merrick opened his mouth and closed it, not sure how much information he wanted to divulge.

“He…goes to your work sometimes,” Merrick said, testing the waters.

“To…oh.” Bryce let out a breath. “Is that…”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve never?—”

“I know,” he said.

His brother let out a breath, shoulders dropping. “I didn’t know you?—”